SOCIALIST MANIFESTO FOR DIRECT DEMOCRACY

The time of
sobering is upon us; never before in the history of mankind was the amount of
immense power held by such a small minority of people. Never before in the
history of mankind was an individual subjected to that power to such extent;
and never before in our civilization were the habitats and the very soil we
live off endangered to such proportions, as they are today. The era of
merciless natural resource and peoples exploitation in name of concentration of
wealth through transition of power towards the elite is bringing societies to
the verge of collapse. The vain promise of unhindered growth and
over-consumption, augmented by neoliberal capitalism that had poisoned demands
of billions, had begun to crumble. More and more of us are aware, that if we
want to survive as a society and as species, we must empower radical changes in
the way we govern the state, the economy, ourselves and how we form decisions.
Capitalism cannot be permanently tweaked and adapted for its own structure is
not fair, nor stable. However, it possesses the means to plunge its own
subjects into the agony of its own decline, be it war, or economical crisis. Europe had witnessed these symptoms twice. After the
World War I, after which the revolutionary ideas of worker’s rights surfaced,
yet, of course, the elite’s answer was strengthening of right-wing nationalisms
that were designed to smother all movements for social justice, based on the
socialist ideas.

After the victory over
Nazism and Fascism, the masses didn’t posses a sufficient amount of knowledge
and understanding to turn away from system’s exploitation, rendering the
existence of true socialist society impossible and as a consequence, the
battles for natural resources and information continued. We all might be
witnessing the birth of the Third World War that rages on many levels, on many
conflict zones, fueled by various monetary funds and financial markets in order
to secure victory over land, resources, the way of thinking and the way of
forming new ideas in order to force old powers into the background. As a
result, the societies suffer economical, debt and migrant crisis; many social environments
decay, when subjected to cruel capitalist realities in which people live and
die, sentenced to everlasting trough repayments of fictional debts and
economical slavery. However, the greatest casualty of this war is truth that
lost its way for sake of an everlasting lie that helps only few. Instead of
social justice we have fake humanitaranism. Instead of social development, greed
is a virtue. Instead of responsible and enlightened individuals, consumerism
and envy sprout it seeds with the help of religion and bias propaganda in
almost every home and organization thus creating armies of ideologically blind
who only know how to postpone their own misery.

The time, in
which Socialism has been erased from humanity’s collective consciousness, almost
forbidden in public debates and forgotten the media is soon to end. The
hegemonic promoter of Capitalist ideology, has been able to unite in their own
class consciousness after second World war, in their own petty financial aristocracy
and at the same time, they managed to force the idea, that the class
consciousness is over and therefore unusable to rest of us.

The working
class has, thorough globalization of production and social relations, started
to lose its identity and through incompetence the hierarchical structure
started to erode and subdue itself to a newly formed financial aristocracy’s
governing structures that absorbed old structures of worker’s leaderships. Of
course, the elite are resisting any kind of socialist movement and idea, for
they know that the very idea is quite powerful and has the ability to unify the
working force, and while doing so, they show the true face of capitalism which
is on the verge of totalitarianism and thus showing their primal fear and
resentment towards everything that has to do with social equality. In order to
avoid that, the leadership is inclined to establish a so called “thin” or
“hollow” state, governed by de-personalized apparatus of faceless bureaucrats,
who only help forwarding the will of big corporations. Therefore, the
individual subject is reduced to mere consumer, who helps to hold together this
frail democracy by voting that rarely changes a thing. So democracy by itself
stops it’s existence – it now becomes something, that can only be described as
a “upturned totalitarianism” – and it exist mostly because it’s citizens refuse
to participate in any decision-making. By doing that, the sub-systems of
society are subjected to various political agendas, governed by smaller groups
that present themselves as non-political. Due to the politician’s excess
behavior, bias media propaganda and people’s misunderstanding, the active
political decision-making is sliding away from the average citizen’s grasp.
Alas, the current crisis and it’s fallout is defining a new social reality and
a wider social context in which citizens participate in various actions, like
labor movements for worker’s rights, local governing, humanitarian and
environmental activities etc. In general, the need for active citizens is on
the rise as well, in spite of different views and methods of course, all of
these movements save the same goal: to reclaim the political engagement that is
being slowly eroded by the leading structures. A scattered struggle without a
unifying idea, without connecting ideology is toothless against the neo-liberal
machinery that does exactly that: scatters social activity and confines it on a
marginal, second-class reality in order to avoid the consequences of a united
popular front.

The time has come and with it, the consciousness
for establishing a direct democracy on a socialist base, so that the social
agreement that incorporates the new day worker’s struggle’s interests, be that
industrial or post-industrial workers, in state owned or private firms,
self-employed, medium or small businesses, youth, the elderly, the
marginalized, and last but not least, the members of a crumbling system that
refuse to continue the neo-liberal path.

II. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEMBERS TOWARDS THE NEW SOCIAL CLASS?

1.Members of the group
“Puntarji” do not represent any party, nor do they represent any political
elite within the working class, not don’t they represent any special views.
Most importantly, “Puntarji” don’t favor any special guiding principles towards
the working class .

3 times NO

NO TO FASCISM !

NO TO NATIONALISM !

NO TO NEOLIBERALISM !

2.“Puntarji” favor the
common interests of working class, against nationalist or religious-based
interest groups. The global ruling system favors cultural, national and
religious clashes in order to decimate a common struggle for common goals.
Personal beliefs are not prohibited, as long they can’t divide people in
certain ethnical or religious factions. The state ought never propagate
xenophobic, racial or other similar arguments that are meant to exclude others.

3.“Puntarji” are against
exploitation of common people’s feelings of fear before the unknown for sake of
the ruling class. Authoritarian hierarchical organizations, such as fascism,
favor the feeling of might and power, of which its supporters depend on and
therefore manifest violent actions, the ruling power silently supports these
organizations with media coverage or with funds, in order to create an illusion
that they are pro working class. With populism, sketchy and flawed socialist
ideas they mimic social struggle and attract a part disappointed, but also
blinded and uneducated population, they promote anger, with which they attack the
smaller vulnerable groups, like minorities, immigrants or homosexuals thus
creating a conflict in which the more developed and enlightened movements begin
to oppose them. After that, the fascist groups use personal discreditation,
threats, violence, all that in order to cripple other movements, forcing them
to hide or to render them inert.

4.“Puntarji” oppose
neo-liberalism which transforms citizens into non-political slaves-consumers.
The ideas of liberty and democracy can only be seen on slogans and bill-boards,
yet in reality, profit is the only thing the machinery relies on and to it is
the only true value. This inverted totalitarianism forces the
subject away from it’s guiding principals that are found in a aware society,
sense of belonging, and supplementing that with ruthless competition and
craving for “economical freedom”. Neo-liberalism knows no camaraderie for all
efforts are concentrated in creating more profit; it knows no family ties,
social bonds, nor values of partnership in marriage; it dictates society that
only the fittest will survive. Social sub-systems that are cornerstones of a
society are handed out to “free market”, groups of influential individuals that
govern them as they see fit, with more, less or no rigidity, overloading vital
social function with neo-liberal ideas. Frankly speaking, there is no “free
market”in itself, it’s only a construct
of technocratic or bureaucratic structures of national and trans-national
institutions – supported by self-proclaimed academic elites who, in apologetic
way, either give voice and weight to leading systems, or, through professional
discourses sprout seeds of doubt between true intellectuals that support civic,
social groups, who have ideas for different, better future. Any state,
organization, society or group is quickly assaulted in ways of aggression or
destabilization from the leading structure as soon as they begin to sway away
from the plotted route.

5.“Puntarji” are civic,
socio-political group, that functions with and through various other
organizations, our goal is to involve citizens in active decision-making and
planning, spreading and understanding socialist ideas and direct democracy
together. One of our goals is to unite the working class trough its function
and principles.

6.Our goals are not
far-fetched, nor are they unreachable – by supporting concrete solutions on a
local, national and international scale in ways of tolerant, productive,
united, with nature co-existing society. We favor social changes that, in the
long run, guide society away from government-backed systematical violence,
debts, unhealthy competition, and most importantly, away from social divide
between masters and slaves.

III. KEY POINTS OF ORGANIZATION "PUNTARJI"

Giving people the
power of popular decision-making.

The development
and introduction of various forms of direct decision-making at different levels
of social organization, both on local and national level, in the production
relations and the civil-society sector. Active citizenship is a cornerstone of
social transformation. Perhaps we are not all-knowing, but united we know more
– so why empower only few for sake of many? Various parties are not entitled to
govern the state, because the state are us, the people.

Solidarity is the
fundament of all societies.

Therefore, we
will strengthen the public health program, public education, volunteering,
interpersonal assistance, the welfare state and all other public services. We
are aware that these are the areas on which further development and existence
of the society depends on, meaning that mixing of public and private ought not
happen. Public services can perform their function only if they are fully
financed from public funds and fully subject to social control and joint
management.

Workers should be
stakeholders in enterprises and farmers ought to take ownership of their
land.

The state should
promote cooperatives, worker takeovers of enterprises and achieve
accountability of owners and managers. Professional work is carried out by
professionals and not party elite, so the whole process of recruitment in the
public sector should be carried out through a fair and transparent mechanisms
for selecting holders of public offices. Social ownership of key production
sectors and social control of the whole economy is important for economic
sovereignty of the society. Social control and with it, transparent management
can be ensured through mechanisms of social accounting for the entire payment
traffic, together with the introduction of workers self-management in socially
owned enterprises, and the promotion of workers co-management in the private
sector of the economy.

Creativity and self-realization
of the individual as a guarantee for the success of the whole society.

Economic policy
should aim at full employment and part-time, namely through the mechanisms of
the welfare state provision of social security for all citizens. Encouraging
scholarship policy and qualitative public education is a guarantee for
development orientation and company performance. Availability of public health
services for all residents equally, while encouraging and ensuring the
successful functioning of the economic environment. Appropriate cultural policy
that stimulates both contractors and enables to establish their wide
availability that contributes to the creativity and self-realization, both amongst
individuals and in society as a whole. Increasing social equality is ensured
through measures of wage policy in social sector through tax policy in
mitigating differences between the lowest and highest income and the definition
of a high standard minimum wage. Additional corrective to social equality,
measures of welfare state in the form of social security, disability benefits,
scholarships, child benefit, additional adjustments to the remuneration
entitlement to a pension. As a permanent or temporary measure to increase
social equity can introduce complementary system of a single basic income, but
it should not become a substitute for entitlements arising from wages, pensions
and social benefits.

Tax policy must be
based on progressivity and fairness.

None of the social subsystem or organization can no
longer be exempt from the tax system, which also applies to religious
communities. Tax policy should promote the introduction of communal forms of
ownership and management, the development orientation of the company and
contribute to an appropriate environmental policy based on sustainable
management and protection of the natural environment. The aim of taxation
should be an uniform development of all parts of society, with the foundation
of the distribution of public control and involvement of all stakeholders in
the use of public money.

6. The necessity of integration.

No country and
its society as well as any advanced movement can not function as an isolated
island, so communicating with similar organizations is essential. That and
participation with international organizations, exchange ideas and experiences
in the implementation of socialist practices and mechanisms of direct
democracy. International cooperation should be carried out on the values ​​of peace, cooperation and coexistence. We firmly reject any form of
unilateral aggression, pressure, economic blockade against sovereign states
with the aim of creating a global hegemony and appropriation of natural
resources.

“Puntarji”, since the parliamentary elections in 2014,
are actively operating within the United Left coalition and we are through it, part
of the European Left on the basis of an advanced program to pursue the
socialist values ​​and direct democracy. Our participation
is based on the common ideas and implementation of joint programs points. With
related organizations to connect with international anti-fascist and
anti-racist front in organizations that actively opposed the conclusion of
secret trade agreements and the activist movement against the closing European
borders. Especially active are the organizations, like the Union
of the WWII Veterans and TIGR. We are also in contact with similar
organizations within the borders of the former Yugoslavia.

7.Judicial branch and levers for detection and
prosecution of criminal offenses are obliged to protect society against the
adverse effects of individuals and criminal gangs.

I AM PROUD

I AM PROUD TO BE A SOCIALIST!

I PROUDLY SUPPORT THE VALUES OF RESISTANCE, “PUNT” AND
NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT!

I PROUDLY LOVE MY COUNTRY!

I AM PROUD TO BELIEVE IN A BETTER WORLD!

We are aware that the
Slovenian society was aggrieved during the process of wild privatization that
blocked economic development – the damage done by these actions fell upon the
citizens as a form of a responsibility that hinders everyone’s way of life. It
is important to eliminate the legal obstacles that prevent society’s ability to
cope with economic crime, and repayment of at least a part of the direct damage
that was already caused, punishing the culprits in the process. We will
complete a review of all privatization processes and make use of all available
mechanisms of international associations and institutions, in order to
investigate and demonstrate the action in those cases, where social property was
intentionally harmed.